The invention relates to a device for variably securing loaded goods on the bottom area of stiff containers, the bottom area being provided with uniformly spaced receiving devices into which one securing stay respectively can be inserted while standing on the bottom area. This type of a device is known from German Patent Document DE 37 28 033 A1.
During the transport and storage of machine parts and other solid goods in containers, as, for example, on pallets, it is frequently necessary to secure these parts on the bottom of the containers in order to protect the valuable goods to be transported from damage.
For this reason, containers which comprise defined fixing devices for securing purposes and which are tailored specifically to the individual part, are frequently manufactured for sensitive and high-quality machine parts. These are usually expensive wood constructions with metal fittings. Even small changes in the dimensions of the machine part require a new construction of the container or a high-expenditure rebuilding of the securing fittings, as indicated with respect to the transport container with variable fittings known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,310.
For the flexible adaptation to different dimensions of loaded goods, a plurality of fittings are known. In the German Patent Document DE 37 28 033 A1, which forms the above-mentioned type, a device for the securing of loaded goods is disclosed whose bottom plate has uniformly spaced pinholes for receiving plug-in type holding elements. However, an exact enclosure of loaded goods by means of the holding elements is possible only when the pinholes are spaced very narrowly which will then reduce the stability of the bottom plate.
The same problems apply to the pallets with the plug-in-type securing elements suggested in German Patent Documents DD 229 370 A1 and DD 229 369 A1.
For receiving loaded goods in a manner that corresponds precisely to the contours, it is suggested in European Patent Document 207 479 A2 to adapt the head of the retention elements which can be plugged into a grid to the contour of the loaded goods. In this case, it is a disadvantage that a plurality of different retention elements are required in order to be able to also receive varying loaded goods.
On this basis, it is an object of the invention to provide a device according to the above-mentioned type which protects loaded goods from shifting and falling out and thus from being damaged. It must be possible to adapt the device in a simple and rapid manner to different dimensions of loaded goods. With a view to loaded goods which are sensitive to shocks, a securing of the loaded goods must be ensured that is largely free of play.
According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the securing stay comprises a first body which can be secured with the bottom surface and of at least a second body, with these bodies being connected by a pin plug-in connection eccentrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the first body and the second body. The first body can be a bottom body and the second body an expansion body.
The essential advantages of the invention are that loaded goods and particularly machine pans of different dimensions can be secured in a flexible manner on bottom surfaces. The required securing may take place by a few, generally three securing stays, in which case the securing takes place by a simple resting of the loaded goods against or on the securing stays. Additional clamping devices, such as screwed or clamped connections, are not required in this case. The positioning of the securing stay with respect to the contact point of the loaded goods takes place by a rough or precise positioning of the securing stay and, as a result, is particularly time-saving and precise. The rough positioning of the securing stay takes place by inserting the securing stay in a receiving device which is close to the contact point. A securing of the loaded goods which is independent of the distant spacing of the receiving devices takes place by the precise positioning by via an eccentrically offset fitting-on of the expansion bodies of the securing stay. With respect to the operation, it was found to be particularly advantageous that the bodies of the securing stay can be mounted manually by a simple plugging without any additional devices. This permits a fast change-over of the securing stays for the adaptation to loaded goods of different dimensions.
In a preferred embodiment, the bodies of the stay are connected with one another in a frictionally engaged manner. This results in the required easy mounting, in which case it is nevertheless ensured that unstressed securing stays do not unintentionally fall apart in the case of an unfavorable position.
Another advantageous development of the invention provides a pin plug-in connection which can be operated easily and without errors by the mutual plugging-in of pin stubs formed on the bodies and recesses, which connection can also be produced at low cost.
Another advantageous further development of the invention offsets the longitudinal axis of the pin stub and of the recess by the distance "a" in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the respective body. The offset arrangement of the pin stubs and the recesses permits a larger offsetting area for the precise positioning than would be possible in the case of the offset arrangement of only the pin stub or the recess. As a result, the maximally usable offset amounts to twice the distance "a". Preferably, the pin stub is constructed as a regular prism, and the recess has a prismatic interior cross-section which corresponds to the pin stub, whereby in the fitted-together condition, an unintentional rotating of the bodies with respect to one another can be avoided. In this case, it is advantageous for the reliable securing of the loaded goods that the securing stay can be stressed with respect to torsion to a limited degree. In addition, as a function of the number of sides of the prism and corresponding to the interior cross-section, defined plug-in positions of the bodies with respect to one another can be determined. By marking of the bodies corresponding to the number of sides, selected plug-in positions can be described and can rapidly be found again.
In an advantageous further development of the invention, the securing stay can comprise a plurality of different expansion bodies, whereby the variety of applications is increased. For this purpose, the expansion body may be constructed as an elastic bearing body which has a cone point and a recess or the pin stub on its base area facing away from the cone point. As a result, also loaded goods with a complex contour can be held by the securing stays with a secure fit. The elastic design of the bearing body permits a careful fixing of loaded goods which are sensitive to shocks. In this case, it is particularly advantageous to use an elastomer as the material for the bearing body, which not only dampens shocks but also protects the bearing surface of the loaded goods from scratches and similar surface damage.
In a further additional development, according to which the expansion body is an intermediate body which has a central body bounded by two mutually parallel end faces, onto which central body, on the one side, the pin stub is molded on the end face side and the recess is molded on the other side, the securing stay may be constructed at almost any height and at almost any required offset. The flexibility of the design of the securing stay permits the adaptation also to complexly shaped loaded goods with low mounting expenditures.
An opposite offsetting of the pin stub and the recess permits a maximal eccentricity of the course of the securing stay for the optimal adaptation to the contour of the loaded goods without the requirement of changing the plug-in position of the securing stay on the bottom surface in an undesirable manner.
In a preferred embodiment, bodies rest flush against one another on their end faces in the fitted-together condition, whereby a large-surface load transfer is possible into the bottom surface or into the container in a material-protecting manner.
Additional advantageous embodiments of the invention ensure a secure and stable fit of the securing stay in the bottom surface so that also high loads of the transported goods occurring during the transport can be transferred.
A securing of the securing stay on the bottom plate against an unintentional detachment which operates in a simple manner and can be established at low expenditures, is obtained by a development of the invention according to which the bottom plate has, on its underside facing away from the securing stay, at least one pair of molded-on noses which project toward the opening, in which case one projection of the bottom body respectively can snap into the gap formed between the noses of a pair by the rotation of the bottom body.
Another advantageous development of the invention is formed by the regular arrangement of the openings on the bottom plate that permits not only a flexible rough positioning of the securing stays but, in the case of known dimensions of the loaded goods, such as the diameter of a pivoted part, a mathematical determination of optimal plug-in positions of the securing stays without any time-consuming iterative and manual determination of the plug-in positions. In addition, by counting or marking, frequently recurring plug-in positions may be found in a rapid and time-saving manner.
An expanded spectrum of positioning possibilities is the result of the embodiment of the invention according to which the crossing points of the plug-in grooves form receiving devices into which bottom bodies can be plugged without the requirement to change the grid distance. In particular, in conjunction with the embodiment of the invention according to which the base part of the bottom body can be inserted into the opening and into the intersecting point, the application possibilities of the invention are expanded.
A construction which expands the usage possibilities of the invention considerably is the result of the fact that conventional plug-in connections, such as those known from the German Patent Application P 40 14 734, can be inserted into the plug-in grooves.
An alternative embodiment provides that the securing stay consists of an individual body comprising the bottom body and the expansion body or bodies. While a releasable connection between the bottom body and the expansion body is eliminated, the use of an integral securing stay is possible while the mounting expenditures are reduced.
In the case of particularly high securing stays or heavy loaded goods, there is the danger that, in the case of hard impacts, the securing stays may be bent or damaged. In order to avoid this danger, the securing stays can be mutually supported in that, in a further development of the invention, the securing stays can be connected with one another by cross-linking devices, in which case the cross-linking devices have several receiving points which are spaced away from one another in the longitudinal direction of the cross-linking device, for the connection of one securing stay respectively with the cross-linking device, and the distance between the receiving points corresponds to the spacing of the receiving devices in the bottom surface. Furthermore, additional securing stays may be built upon the cross-linking devices so that the device is rendered more flexible. For this purpose, the receiving points are preferably formed by adjacent bores whose diameter is coordinated with the outside diameter of the securing stay, whereby cross-linking devices can simply be pushed on securing stays.
As an alternative to the construction of the receiving points as a bore, in a manner that is compatible with the pin plug-in connection, these are constructed as a recess for receiving a pin stub.
For connecting securing stays of one column or one row or of one diagonal on the grid-type bottom plate, the distance between the receiving points corresponds to the horizontal or diagonal spacing of the receiving devices in the bottom surface.
In the case of loaded goods with a bore, it is frequently advantageous to place these by way of the bore. Such loaded goods may also be secured by means of securing stays in that, for the adaptation of the securing stay to the, as a rule, larger bore diameter, a circular-ring body is pushed onto the securing stay. Preferably, this circular-ring body is formed by two concentric circular rings which are connected with one another by webs. This construction is stable and can be carried out in a simple manner.